question for 40/1.4 users

[back alley]

how do you find the handling on this lens?

i have one outing with it so far and do not want to make a quick judgement.

that being said, the small 'wings' on the aperture ring never seem to be where my fingertips are and that kinda slowed me down a bit.

wondering if it's just me and is it something one gets used to?

joe

 

[Buze]

Only "minus" for me is that these wings eat a bit too much of the viewfinder when wide open. Other than that no problem. I use it on a M2 with a hand meter tho, so I don't need to reach these wings when looking thru the viewfinder...

 

[furcafe]

I've never had a problem. You probably just need time to adjust to the lens's ergonomics . . .

 

[Andrew Touchon]

how do you find the handling on this lens?

i have one outing with it so far and do not want to make a quick judgement.

that being said, the small 'wings' on the aperture ring never seem to be where my fingertips are and that kinda slowed me down a bit.

wondering if it's just me and is it something one gets used to?

joe

I find the handling of the 40mm 1.4 Nokton much easier than the 40mm 2.0 Rokkor. although I have small hands, I think the slightly larger size of the Nokton is a plus.

 

[back alley]

good to hear.

i've never read anything negative about the handling on this lens and was feeling very clumsy with it today.

 

[davidbivins]

I definitely had a learning curve with it, so I empathize with you about feeling clumsy. And I still often have to relearn for the first minute when I've been using another lens. But I have to say I wish more lenses had protuberances that were so easy to grab like that. Once I'm in the groove, I find it incredibly easy to use. And as noted above, it's a hell of a lot easier (and faster) to use than the M-Rokkor.

 

[Bob B]

I too find that I "miss" the wings sometimes and have to reset my hand, but I just got the lens and have only shot 3 rolls so far. I really like the results, but I find the tab on my 35mm color-skopar is easier to manuever. Also my 50mm/1.5 Nokton is easy to turn but that lens is a bit of a truck.

I'm quite pleased with the quality and size of the 40mm/1.4 and I even have to guess at my frame lines some as I'm using it on an R2A. I think the lens is a keeper.

 

[mc_vancouver]

I've been holding my breath waiting for the 40 to arrive in the post, the one that was sold here in the classifieds a couple of weeks ago. Still haven't got it, but Customs holds things up sometimes, all the time, actually, so I'm not in panic mode yet. Looking forward to it but now wondering: Do I keep the 50 Summitar (2.0)? Nice to have an old Leitz lens but can I justify it...

 

[sf]

I didn't get along with the tabbed focusing ring either. I wish they had made it with a normal ring, but oh well. I found it more difficult to focus accurately AND gracefully.

 

[back alley]

i liked tabbed focusing rings, the wings are what throw me off.

but i keep hearing mostly good things about this lens, except for the comments about bokeh, but i could care less about that.

 

[Dougg]

Seems fine to me, Joe; I rather like the wings for the same reason I like focusing tabs, that they are a tactile reminder of about where the setting is, and can aid quick setting. On the CLE (and surely too the ZI), the tabs aren't visible in the viewfinder except full wide-open, and then only a tiny bit of one in the lower right corner. Wouldn't even notice it unless looking for it. 🙂

 

[back alley]

the 40 sits on my cl which i think is part of my problem. i put it on the zi and it was more comfortable immediately, same with the m3. i think it's the smaller camera body combined with the lens that is 'cramping' my style...

 

[sockeyed]

I really like the ergonomics of the 40/1.4. I find it highly intuitive - things are where I expect them to be. My only complaint is that it was stiff when I got it, but now, after a year, it's pretty buttery.

 

[kully]

I really like the ergonomics of the 40/1.4. I find it highly intuitive - things are where I expect them to be. My only complaint is that it was stiff when I got it, but now, after a year, it's pretty buttery.

I had exactly the same - when I got the lens (second hand, but not used much at all) the focussing was much too stiff with my finger slipping off regularly. Now, after just two weeks the focussing is getting better, hope it takes less than a year to get 'buttery' though.

 

[back alley]

this one is smooth out of the box, though i think i am the third owner it hasn't been used much.
it looks new.

joe